Meetings and visitors to St James Academy

As from today, Monday 16th March, the following procedures will apply: 

• All external school meetings involving visitors to the academy will be cancelled and will be conducted by telephone 

• The Senior Team will conduct any pre-arranged parental meeting by telephone, as opposed to face to face 

• All parents’ evenings will be cancelled and feedback for parents will be sent by other means 

• Reception will be closed to all external visitors, including parents. Any contact with the academy will need to be conducted via email [email protected] or by calling reception on 01384 816045 

• All sporting fixtures and trips will be cancelled 

• All external lettings of school facilities will be cancelled. 

These measures are not intended to cause any panic but are simply to minimise the risk of infection and safeguard both the staff and students of our academy. The focus over the next weeks is the smooth running of the school. 

In common with all other schools in England, all of the academies within Dudley Academies Trust will continue to follow the guidance from Public Health England and the Department for Education. The current advice, as of Friday 13th March, is that any student who has a temperature or persistent cough should self-isolate for 7 days. The school will authorise all absences that should arise as a result of this. We shall continue to publish government advice on our websites. The very latest guidelines are here https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ 

It is important that education of our students is not interrupted and that we are able to operate as normal for as long as possible. However, contingency plans are already in place for continuing your children’s studies should the academy be asked to close, and we will keep you updated of any further guidance received. 

Yours Sincerely, 

Jo Higgins 
Chief Executive